Anaerobe jar



INVENToR. H.

JOHN Blf/2me J. H. BREWER ANAEROBE JAR Filed June 23, 1947 vMarch 1, 1949.

REWER f PM/ 2/1- Patented Mar. 1, 1949 \ANAEROBE J'AR .lohn H. Brewer, Baltimore, Md., assignor to Hynson, Westcott & Dunning, Incorporated, a cor' poration of Maryland Application June 23, 1947, serial No. 756,566

An object of the present invention is to provide an anaerobe jar with improved means for chemically combining the oxygen content of the 3 Claims. (Cl. 195'-127) atmosphere within the jar which completely l eliminates the danger of explosion.

` It is customary to remove the oxygen from the atmosphere in an anaerobe jar by introducing hydrogen or other gas which is capable of chemical combination with oxygen into the jar and causing it to combine with the oxygen by means of an electrically heated catalyst. In spitev of the fact that every eilort hasV been made to avoid explosive reaction, explosions occasionally do occur and are quite dangerous because anaerobe jars lgenerally are made of heavy glass and when they are exploded heavy pieces of glass are thrown with sufficient force to cause serious injury. e

I have eliminated the danger of such explosions by eliminating the use of gaseous agents for combination with the oxygen. In accordance with my invention, carbon or a metal such as iron or other solid material which is capable of reacting with and binding oxygen but not explosively is used as the oxygen clean-up agent.

An anaerobe jar embodying my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a central vertical section of the anaerobe jar and its accessories with some parts ap' pearing in elevation, v

Fig. 2 is a detail cross-section onthe-line 2--2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section, looking downwardl on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 41s a fractional central vertlcalsection on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1, y

Fig. 5 is a perspective view vof the basket which supports the solid oxygen-fixing agent, and

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view of the cover and basket in inverted position.

Referring to the drawings, vI is the jar body and 2 the cover. The jar l should be transparent so that the contents may be observed and ordinarily is made of heavyv glass like the standard museum jar and ordinarily is about 5 inches in diameter and about 8 inches deep.` Itwill be un-` derstood, however, that my invention is not limited to the size or shape of the jar orthe material of which it is made. It is within the scope of my invention for instance to vuse a jar formed of the cover may be sealed to the jarby any suitable gasket material such as molding clay 3. The cover is held in place on the jar by means of the clamp 4 having lingers 5 which engage under the rim 6 lof the Jar` and the screw 1 which is rotated to press against the cover by means of the knob or head 8. v

The cover 2 preferably is dome-shaped, as i1' lustrated, so as to contain or partly contain the oxygen getter basket and leave the space within the jar unobstructed to contain petri dishes and/or test tubes containing the anaerobic bacteria cultures under observation. The cover also preferably has a flat and unobstructed top surface so that it can be placed in inverted position as shown in Fig. 6 While the basket is being lled with the oxygen getter.

The cover has an opening in one side which is sealed' by the plug 9 of electric insulating material containing the two electric conductors or electrodes I0, I0 adapted to receive electric current by Wayof the cord Il and the detachable electric connector I2. The cover is provided also with a second opening into which is sealed the nipple I3 to which is connected the rubber tube I4 controlled by the pinch cock I5. This second opening and the nipple I3 are provided for use in the event that it is desired to evacuate the j ar l or to introduce a gas but it is not essential, constitutes no part of the present invention and may y be omitted.

transparent synthetic resin or plastic or of non- The cover further is provided`with the inverted U-shaped bracket I6 which is shown as being spot welded at points I1, I1 to the cover. As will be apparent, any other construction which provides the two downwardly extending `posts I9 and 2U may be substituted for the bracket I6. The posts I9 and 20 are provided with the pivot pins 2| and 22 upon which the basket 23 is pivotally supported. The basket 23 may be of any suitable shape such as the semi-cylindrical shape illus' trated and consists essentially of the end walls 24 and 25 formed of an insulating and heat-resistant material such as slate, porcelain or the like and the wire screen 26. The end walls 24 and 25 are provided with the openings 21 and 28 to receive the pivot pins 2l and 22 and also carry the metal electrodes 29 and 30 which latter are connectedV by thev flexible conductors 3 I and 32 to the electrodes` I0, I0. 'Iheends of the electrodes 29 and 'oxygen getter has an electrical conductivity ofV the order of that of finely divided charcoal.

The screen lwire portion 26 of the basket preferably is of a. (sufficiently fine mesh to1 prevent any substantial amountof the charcoal from sift ing through. The basket may be provided with a cover, e. g. a screen wire cover I8 although this is not essential.

In operation the cover\2 is placed in the position and 'adaptedtou'contain a'mass of the oxygen gettter and having electrodes 'in contact with saidmass. and electrical conductors extending from said electrodes and hermetically sealed through the cover of the jar and adapted to be connected to a source of electric current.

It is appreciated that the basket zwmeh is mounted to rotate to inverted position to facilitate filling it with theoxygen getten and\conse to cover the electrodes. The charcoal or charcoaliron mixture preferably is lightly tamped into the basket around the electrodes, the basket cover put -in place and the jar cover 2 is then turned right side up and placed on the jar. In turning the jar cover 2 from its inverted position to its upright position it should be turned on an axis qnently is provided with flexible conductors for the electric current might be replaced by a great variety Yof forms of containers for the oxygen getter, for instance by a preformed capsule which might be inserted in a holder, e.g. between spring clips carried by the cover, and repladed by a new capsulefrom time to time or each time the jar is parallel to the axis of the pivot pins 2| and 22 so as to permit the basket 23 to turn and maintain its upright position. After the cover 2 has been placed on the jar with the sealing member 3 in place, the jar of course containing the anaerobic l bacterial cultures to be tested, the clamp 4 is applied and the electric connector I2 is attached. Current passes by way of-the electrodes I0, I0, conductors 3I and 32 and electrodes 29 and 30 through the charcoal and heats it up suiiiciently,

preferably to a low red heat, to cause it to react with `the oxygen in the atmosphere in the jar. Ordinarily from about 5 to about 20 minutes are required to` consume all of the oxygen in the jar. The amount of carbon between the electrodes will, ordinarily be several times suicient to consume the oxygen in the jar, that is, the jar can be used several times with a single lling of the basket with charcoal.

The proximity of the electrodes readily may vbe adjusted, depending upon the conductivity Yof the carbon or carbon-iron or other powder used as oxygen getter, so as to produce the desired intensity of heating of the powder.

When the atmosphere in the jar is free of oxygen (this c an be determined by oxygen indicators which, however, are not generally satisfactory or by testing the jar with known anaerobic bacteria or simply by continuing the passage of electric current for a suicient length of time, say 20 minutes, to assure that all oxygen has been consumed) the connector I2 is removed. The-heating of the oxygen getter by the passage of electric current and the heat of reaction between the oxygen getter and the oxygen tend to raise the temperature of the atmosphere within the jar but thisrise in temperature generally does not exceed about 2 C. and is not objectionable.

It readily will be appreciated that the specific construction which has been described and illustrated is capable of extensive modification within the scope of my invention which I believe resides in the provision of means for contacting the atmosphere withinan anaerobe jar with an electrically heated mass of solid material capable,

when heated, of chemically combining with oxygen. Broadly the invention resides in the combination of a container for the finely divided oxygen getter and 'means for conveying electric current to the mass of oxygen getter to heat it to a temperature at which it reacts with the oxygen. More specifically, the invention resides `in -means' for conveying electric current through the Wall of the anaerobe jar and to a mass of the oxygen getter supported within the jar and in contact with the atmosphere therein. Still more specifically, the invention resides in a foraminous basket supported by the'cover of the jar used for a new batch of cultures to be tested. In such a modification the electrical conductors wouldnot have to be flexible and in fact the capsule supports, e.g. the spring clips, might be insulatedfrom each other and serve also as the electric conductors to the capsule. The details of the illustrated embodiment of my invention were worked out to permit repeated illing of the basket with fresh charges of the oxygen getter from a package thereof but as stated this embodiment is merely illustrative of a variety of .specific structures in which a renewable charge of solid oxygen getter is supported in contact with the atmosphere in the jar and heated to reaction temperature by electric current conducted by way of a permanent connection through the wall (or cover) of the jar.

I claim: 1. An anaerobe Jar comprising a jar body, a removable dome-shaped cover for said jar body, a bracket supported by said cover and having spaced apart posts extending downwardly therefrom, a foraminous basket rotatably supported between said posts, electrodes carried by and extending into the interior of the basket, an insulating plug extending through and sealing an opening in said cover, electric conductors sealed in and extending through said plug and flexible electric conductors connecting said electrodes to said conductors sealed in said plug.

2. An anaerobe jar comprising a jar body and a removable cover, a foraminous container for a mass of solid material capable of reacting with oxygen supported byr said cover within the jar,

. electrical conductors extending through said cover to said container and electrodes connected to said conductors and extending into the interior .of said container. y

l ymsrnmtNcEs CITED The following references are of record inthe f ile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 255,219 Voelker Mar. 21, 1882 286,916 Fitzgerald Oct. 16, 1883 1,600,203 Campbell Sept. 14, 1926 OTHER REFERENCES vChemical and Biological Laboratory Apparatus Catalogue C 227, published by. Central Scientific Co., Chicago, U. S. A., 1927, page 11.

Bacteriology and Mycology of Food by Tanner.

41st ed. (1919) pages. 20 and 21. 

